The socio-behavioral development of children with symptoms of attachment disorder: An observational study of teacher sensitivity in special education

Teachers as co-regulators of children's emotions: A descriptive study of teacher-child emotion dialogues in special education

BACKGROUND

The study examined how teachers and children with emotional and behavioral disturbances engage in dialogues about children's emotional experiences. Dialogues about emotions are an important strategy for teachers to co-regulate children's emotions but have remained understudied.

AIMS

This study aimed to explore whether the Autobiographical Emotional Events Dialogue (AEED) can help to assess the quality of teacher-child emotion dialogues about past emotional events and examined associations with child behavior and teacher-child relationship quality.

METHOD

The sample included 85 children and 70 teachers from special education schools serving children with emotional and behavioral disturbances. Teacher-child dialogues were videotaped and coded using the 16 rating scales of the AEED coding system (Koren-Karie, Oppenheim, Carasso, & Haimovich, 2003).

RESULTS

The scales (except child boundary dissolution) could be reliably assessed. A Principal Component Analysis yielded 4 factors: Adequate task completion (coherent dialogues and positive child task behavior), Negativity (hostility and teacher boundary dissolution), Teacher Guidance (involvement, structuring, and acceptance), and Resolution (positive closure of negative stories). Child age, verbal intelligence, prosocial behavior, and higher teacher-child relationship scores (higher closeness, lower conflict) were positively associated with the quality of the dialogues but behavior problems were not.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The study provides first insight in teachers' scaffolding of dialogues with children about negative emotional events in special education serving children with emotional and behavioral disturbances.

Current Perspectives on the Management of Reactive Attachment Disorder in Early Education

Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) have special educational needs that are challenging for teachers in early education. In the current contribution, we will discuss a large body of research suggesting that stimulating these children's attachment development is feasible for teachers and potentially a successful strategy to ensure that these children thrive better in the classroom and socially. The current overview discusses research and theory on RAD and RAD treatment and results in the formulation of specific recommendations for the successful management of children with RAD in the classroom.

Reactive attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior in middle childhood: the role of Secure Base Script knowledge

BACKGROUND

Children with attachment disorder show prosocial behavior problems. Children with a reactive attachment disorder show inhibited and emotionally withdrawn behavior. Consequently, these children typically display prosocial behavior problems. However, the underlying mechanism between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems is still unclear and findings in literature are mixed.

METHODS

The current study investigated the role of children's attachment representations in this association. Attachment representations reflect knowledge about a cognitive script regarding the attachment figure as a source for support (Secure Base Script). We tested whether secure base script knowledge 1) mediates or 2) moderates the link between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems in 83 children (6-11 years; 83.1% boys) recruited from special education schools for children with behavioral problems. Children completed a pictorial Secure Base Script Test. Their reactive attachment disorder symptoms were assessed during an interview with the primary caregivers. Primary caregivers and teachers filled out a prosocial behavior questionnaire about the child.

RESULTS

Results did not support the mediation hypothesis, but evidence for the moderation hypothesis was found. Secure base script knowledge attenuated the negative association between attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings contribute to the discussion about the link between attachment representations and attachment disorders.

Development and Examination of the Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder Assessment Interview

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) categorizes reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) as two separate disorders, and their criteria are revised. For DSED, the core symptoms focus on abnormal social disinhibition, and symptoms regarding lack of selective attachment have been removed. The core symptoms of RAD are the absence of attachment behaviors and emotional dysregulation. In this study, an international team of researchers modified the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment for RAD to update it from DSM-IV to DSM-5 criteria for RAD and DSED. We renamed the interview the reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder assessment (RADA). Foster parents of 320 young people aged 11 to 17 years completed the RADA online. Confirmatory factor analysis of RADA items identified good fit for a three-factor model, with one factor comprising DSED items (indiscriminate behaviors with strangers) and two factors comprising RAD items (RAD1: failure to seek/accept comfort, and RAD2: withdrawal/hypervigilance). The three factors showed differential associations with clinical symptoms of emotional and social impairment. Time in foster care was not associated with scores on RAD1, RAD2, or DSED. Higher age was associated with lower scores on DSED, and higher scores on RAD1.

A prospective longitudinal study of Reactive Attachment Disorder following early institutional care: considering variable- and person-centered approaches

Although the study of reactive attachment disorder (RAD) in early childhood has received considerable attention, there is emerging interest in RAD that presents in school age children and adolescents. We examined the course of RAD signs from early childhood to early adolescence using both variable-centered (linear mixed modeling) and person-centered (growth mixture modeling) approaches. One-hundred twenty-four children with a history of institutional care from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care, as well as 69 community comparison children were included in the study. While foster care was associated with steep reductions in RAD signs across development, person-centered approaches indicated that later age of placement into families and greater percent time in institutional care were each associated with prolonged elevated RAD signs. Findings suggest the course of RAD is variable but substantially influenced by early experiences.